Performance Enhancement of Organic Solar Cells by Adding a Liquid Crystalline Molecule in Cathode and Anode Interlayers

Mengqi Cui; Na Li; Yuying Wang; Yuting Li; Xia Tian; Xingchen Zhang; Wenting Wang; Zhongmin Liu; Qikun Rong; Xingsen Gao; Guofu Zhou; Li Nian

doi:10.1021/acsami.1c06329

Performance Enhancement of Organic Solar Cells by Adding a Liquid Crystalline Molecule in Cathode and Anode Interlayers

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2021 Aug 4;13(30):35639-35646. doi: 10.1021/acsami.1c06329. Epub 2021 Jul 20.

Authors

Mengqi Cui¹, Na Li², Yuying Wang¹, Yuting Li¹, Xia Tian¹, Xingchen Zhang¹, Wenting Wang², Zhongmin Liu², Qikun Rong¹, Xingsen Gao¹, Guofu Zhou¹, Li Nian¹

Affiliations

¹ South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
² Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.

PMID: 34282876
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c06329

Abstract

In this study, an effective and simple approach for optimizing the performance of both cathode and anode interlayers in OSCs is demonstrated using 4-heptyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (7CB) to dope a classic cathode (ZnO and SnO₂) or an anode interlayer [poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)]. Because of the enhanced light absorption, improved physical contact between a photoactive layer and an interlayer, and increased carrier recombination, all of the devices based on a 7CB-doped interlayer show increased short-circuit current density (J_sc), fill factor (FF), and power conversion efficiency (PCE) compared to the corresponding undoped interlayer, regardless it is the anode interlayer or the cathode interlayer, which is a rare phenomenon in the interlayer modification field.

Keywords: anode interlayer; cathode interlayer; external quantum efficiency; liquid crystals; organic photovoltaic.